Locating Network Resources for an Entity based on its Digital Certificate

摘要

A method and apparatus are provided for locating network resources over a communication network. The method includes receiving a digital certificate identifying a first entity and extracting information from at least one predetermined field of the digital certificate. The extracted information is used as input to a location generation function to create a resource locator (e.g., a URL). The network resource is contacted over the communication network in accordance with a communication protocol using the resource locator to obtain requested information concerning the first entity.